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#1
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orchid database?
I was wondering how many people here have a database for keeping track of
your orchids, and if you do what kind of info do you store in your database? I have a database that I created in MS Access in August 2004 and have been using since then. In this database I store information such as: official name of plant, my own nickname for each orchid, genus, whether it is a species or hybrid, date acquired and vendor acquired from, comments, spiking/blooming/wilting dates (whenever I remember to log them or approximate dates when I do not), and also watering dates with average watering interval calculated. I run a query every morning which tells me which orchids most likely will need to be watered on that day, and then I check these orchids first and water them if needed and if I have time then I check the ones scheduled for the following day or two to check whether they need watering early. I log the date watered in the database immediately after the watering, so that I continue to keep track. I also have a query showing me a list of orchids that are currently in bloom and since when, and all the ones that are currently in spike and since when. Anyone else track watering schedules in a database, or am I weird in that respect? What other info do you track? I know I should probably add fields to my database to track the date each orchid was last repotted, any other info that it would be useful to track? Joanna |
#2
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orchid database?
On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 23:25:22 GMT in C1C3f.19356$at1.6533@trnddc05 J Fortuna wrote:
Anyone else track watering schedules in a database, or am I weird in that respect? What other info do you track? I know I should probably add fields to my database to track the date each orchid was last repotted, any other info that it would be useful to track? I currently keep a spread sheet. One "page" that tracks what I bought, when I bought it, who I bought it from, my number for the plant. The original vendor's number for the plant, the media it is currently potted in, and the size of pot it's currently in. Another that I use as a checklist for when to water, flush, fungicide... I'm somewhat tempted to move to a "real database". However, I've yet to even get through a gross analysis of your webmail cgi-bin. -- Chris Dukes Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil |
#3
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orchid database?
I keep track of the name of the orchid, from whom (or where) I bought
it, and its condition upon purchase. Quarterly, I note each orchid's condition, top and roots. I note when I repot an orchid, its condition, the media that I repot it in (S/H or other), when it blooms, and the quality and number of the blooms. I note when I've won an award and the source of the award (regional show, monthly meeting table, etc.). More recently, I've made more notes on "outside/inside" for the summer and where the plant is in my growing area in winter: natural light, HID light, or flourescent light. (Alas, I do move plants around a bit--one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this: If it doesn't flourish, move it.) I also note when an orchid dies or when I've given it away. I have a special category of "Died, Donated." Actually, the "died" category can yield some very useful information--When I reviewed my list, I found that ALL the orchids that I bought from a certain vendor died--Lesson: don't buy from him again. In addition, I discovered that all my phals seemed to have a high winter death rate in a certain growing area--Lesson: Don't put them there again. I've discovered that the transition from bark media to S/H is better at some times of year than others. No, I don't track watering because it varies so much--this week was hot, last week wasn't, etc. One thing that I've started doing is tracking plant divisions. What's really interesting is to put one half in S/H and one half in bark media and then compare their progress. For the Catt family, at first the bark-media half does better, but after a year, the S/H half has leap-frogged the bark-media half. Anyway, for me, a DB has been a good way of helping me identify trends. If I were more organized, I'd do fertilizer studies. |
#4
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orchid database?
It seems like most people keep track of roughly the same basic data. I
do that as well, minus the watering schedule. However, my database is not just for my orchids. I have sort of made my little own version of Wildcatt for Phals/Dtps. I have about 1300 hybrids listed, and for each one I have the cross and year of registration, and the species parentage, and how much genetic material each species contributes to the cross. I do this on Excel, as that was the only way I could see to easily calculate genetic percentages. As for how I pick which hybrids go in the database, I basically browse around and every once in a while record the most commonly available orchids for sale that I see from various vendors, and those go in. Cheers, Xi OrchidKitty wrote: I keep track of the name of the orchid, from whom (or where) I bought it, and its condition upon purchase. Quarterly, I note each orchid's condition, top and roots. I note when I repot an orchid, its condition, the media that I repot it in (S/H or other), when it blooms, and the quality and number of the blooms. I note when I've won an award and the source of the award (regional show, monthly meeting table, etc.). More recently, I've made more notes on "outside/inside" for the summer and where the plant is in my growing area in winter: natural light, HID light, or flourescent light. (Alas, I do move plants around a bit--one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this: If it doesn't flourish, move it.) I also note when an orchid dies or when I've given it away. I have a special category of "Died, Donated." Actually, the "died" category can yield some very useful information--When I reviewed my list, I found that ALL the orchids that I bought from a certain vendor died--Lesson: don't buy from him again. In addition, I discovered that all my phals seemed to have a high winter death rate in a certain growing area--Lesson: Don't put them there again. I've discovered that the transition from bark media to S/H is better at some times of year than others. No, I don't track watering because it varies so much--this week was hot, last week wasn't, etc. One thing that I've started doing is tracking plant divisions. What's really interesting is to put one half in S/H and one half in bark media and then compare their progress. For the Catt family, at first the bark-media half does better, but after a year, the S/H half has leap-frogged the bark-media half. Anyway, for me, a DB has been a good way of helping me identify trends. If I were more organized, I'd do fertilizer studies. |
#5
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orchid database?
"J Fortuna" wrote in message news:C1C3f.19356$at1.6533@trnddc05... I was wondering how many people here have a database for keeping track of your orchids, and if you do what kind of info do you store in your database? Well Joanna, While I haven't done it yet, I hope to have a prototype developed over the next year or so, as a web application. This would be set up to include the kind of data already described in your post and those of the other two. But to make it really useful, I'd have a section where one can enter morphometric data and track how the geometric description of the plant changes through time, as well as environmental data, perhaps even supporting mini weather stations (PAR, temperature, humidity, &c.) along with things like potting media, or what the plant is mounted on, if it is mounted, watering and fertilizing regimes, &c. Eventually, it may even support genetic finger prints. The idea is to be able to support routine taxonomic analyses, and use these to provide provisional identification of noids, and then possibly to genetic finger prints to support such an ID. Once I get it established, the more people who participate, and document the culture they provide to their plants, the more likely it becomes that the system can ID a noid. Equally importantly, or the user can visit the web application, supply a description of their growing environment and the types of plants they're growing, and then see the range of cultural practices that have been tried, and with what outcome. No Joanna, you're not weird. What you're trying to do is quite sensible. What you include in your database is entirely up to you, and should be determined by how you understand your present needs. There is little point in collecting data for a given parameter if you don't know how you'll use it. If you keep it up, it is certain that your database will evolve over the years. It is also certain that my needs will be different from yours. I am approaching this as an expert in decision support software who began as an environmental scientist with a strong background in biostatistics and numerical taxonomy. But, with the breadth of my experience in software engineering, I can design this so it will be as useful to a secondary school student just learning how to grow plants as it would be to a research scientist, with each user using what he needs and ignoring the rest. Cheers, Ted -- R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D. R & D Decision Support Solutions http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/ Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making |
#6
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orchid database?
"?" wrote in message
rg... Snip However, I've yet to even get through a gross analysis of your webmail cgi-bin. -- Chris Dukes Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil Chris, Ok, so if suspicion breeds confidence, am I supposed to be suspicious about your analyzing of _my_ webmail cgi-bin, and how will that make me more confident, and not really really concerned? Hmm. In response to: I currently keep a spread sheet. snip I'm somewhat tempted to move to a "real database". I too started with a spreadsheet for my orchid info, and when I finally moved to the database, I wished that I had done it a long time ago. Do think more about it. It's definitely worth it. OrchidKitty's email shows some of the really cool stuff that one can do with a database -- OrchidKitty, I am really impressed! Even for less complex data, a database can be much more organized and flexible than a spreadsheet. And the more data you have, the more awkward the spreadsheet becomes. How many orchids do you have now, Chris? Joanna |
#7
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orchid database?
Ted,
That sounds like a really interesting project. Good luck with it! Joanna "Ted Byers" wrote in message ... "J Fortuna" wrote in message news:C1C3f.19356$at1.6533@trnddc05... I was wondering how many people here have a database for keeping track of your orchids, and if you do what kind of info do you store in your database? Well Joanna, While I haven't done it yet, I hope to have a prototype developed over the next year or so, as a web application. This would be set up to include the kind of data already described in your post and those of the other two. But to make it really useful, I'd have a section where one can enter morphometric data and track how the geometric description of the plant changes through time, as well as environmental data, perhaps even supporting mini weather stations (PAR, temperature, humidity, &c.) along with things like potting media, or what the plant is mounted on, if it is mounted, watering and fertilizing regimes, &c. Eventually, it may even support genetic finger prints. The idea is to be able to support routine taxonomic analyses, and use these to provide provisional identification of noids, and then possibly to genetic finger prints to support such an ID. Once I get it established, the more people who participate, and document the culture they provide to their plants, the more likely it becomes that the system can ID a noid. Equally importantly, or the user can visit the web application, supply a description of their growing environment and the types of plants they're growing, and then see the range of cultural practices that have been tried, and with what outcome. No Joanna, you're not weird. What you're trying to do is quite sensible. What you include in your database is entirely up to you, and should be determined by how you understand your present needs. There is little point in collecting data for a given parameter if you don't know how you'll use it. If you keep it up, it is certain that your database will evolve over the years. It is also certain that my needs will be different from yours. I am approaching this as an expert in decision support software who began as an environmental scientist with a strong background in biostatistics and numerical taxonomy. But, with the breadth of my experience in software engineering, I can design this so it will be as useful to a secondary school student just learning how to grow plants as it would be to a research scientist, with each user using what he needs and ignoring the rest. Cheers, Ted -- R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D. R & D Decision Support Solutions http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/ Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making |
#8
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orchid database?
J Fortuna wrote: I was wondering how many people here have a database for keeping track of your orchids, and if you do what kind of info do you store in your database? I use Filemaker Pro and have a single database for all my tropicals, including the orchids. The fields include: Family, Genus and Species, my accession number, other accession numbers (from source, etc), natural habitat, source of plant, date of repotting, potting material, date of blooming, photograph, and other comments (seedling distributions, locality/collection data, unusual characteristics, etc). I usually keep the file sorted by Family, Genus and species, and accession number, but Filemaker lets me search and sort by any of the fields. It also lets me maintain the database in multiple formats. One format contains all the fields with each plant on a separate page, and the second is a list for quick scanning or printing that contains only Family, Genus and Species, and accession number. Nick |
#9
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orchid database?
Yes Joanna, I have a data base I made using Access97 as well. I also have
"EverythingOrchid" from our very own Pam Knapp who sometimes visits our group. I could not imagine being without it especially with thousands of orchid plants. I try to keep mine updated, potting dates, divisions, culture notes etc. http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page1.html Pam's database is really neat & well worth the money. One feature I like for example is you can view a list of orchids that have bloomed in any given month.....of course you have to keep the bloom date updated! But I love it. Cheers Wendy Remove PETERPAN for email reply J Fortuna wrote: I was wondering how many people here have a database for keeping track of your orchids, and if you do what kind of info do you store in your database? I have a database that I created in MS Access in August 2004 and have been using since then. In this database I store information such as: official name of plant, my own nickname for each orchid, genus, whether it is a species or hybrid, date acquired and vendor acquired from, comments, spiking/blooming/wilting dates (whenever I remember to log them or approximate dates when I do not), and also watering dates with average watering interval calculated. I run a query every morning which tells me which orchids most likely will need to be watered on that day, and then I check these orchids first and water them if needed and if I have time then I check the ones scheduled for the following day or two to check whether they need watering early. I log the date watered in the database immediately after the watering, so that I continue to keep track. I also have a query showing me a list of orchids that are currently in bloom and since when, and all the ones that are currently in spike and since when. Anyone else track watering schedules in a database, or am I weird in that respect? What other info do you track? I know I should probably add fields to my database to track the date each orchid was last repotted, any other info that it would be useful to track? Joanna |
#10
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orchid database?
On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 02:38:41 GMT in RSE3f.24186$wm3.19828@trnddc01 J Fortuna wrote:
"?" wrote in message rg... Snip However, I've yet to even get through a gross analysis of your webmail cgi-bin. -- Chris Dukes Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil Chris, Ok, so if suspicion breeds confidence, am I supposed to be suspicious about your analyzing of _my_ webmail cgi-bin, and how will that make me more confident, and not really really concerned? Hmm. Be very concerned and how bad my mind is munging names :-). In response to: I currently keep a spread sheet. snip I'm somewhat tempted to move to a "real database". I too started with a spreadsheet for my orchid info, and when I finally moved to the database, I wished that I had done it a long time ago. Do think more about it. It's definitely worth it. OrchidKitty's email shows some of the really cool stuff that one can do with a database -- OrchidKitty, I am really impressed! Even for less complex data, a database can be much more organized and flexible than a spreadsheet. And the more data you have, the more awkward the spreadsheet becomes. How many orchids do you have now, Chris? I agree that databases tend to work much better than spread sheets. However, databases cannot be maintained for weeks on end with a printout and a pencil or pen :-). Moving to a database has been hindered by laziness and cheapness. Open Office currently lacks something equivalent to access and rolling my own database is going to lead to a tangent on generating tables for printout and attempt #3 at writing a GUI app. As for the orchids... 45 that are alive and in the sheet. 1 from the GF that is currently undergoing spag 'n bag because the GF rotted the roots off. 3 ludisia being propagated via cuttings. 2 nobile dendrobiums being propagated from keikis. 1 ludisia propagated via cutting and given to GF. 1 ludisia propagated via cutting and sold. We'll just not talk about the african violets, bromeliads, spider plants, philodendrons, epihyllum, peppers, begonias .... I refuse to worry until I'm in my 80s and one of my sprogs asks "Just how many more ... are you going to propagate?" and I respond "I don't know, how many more acres do I have left?" (My granddad managed to cover a couple acres of land in South Carolina in camelias before he died.) -- Chris Dukes Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil |
#11
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orchid database?
"?" wrote in message rg... On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 02:38:41 GMT in RSE3f.24186$wm3.19828@trnddc01 J Fortuna wrote: "?" wrote in message rg... Snip In response to: I currently keep a spread sheet. snip I'm somewhat tempted to move to a "real database". I too started with a spreadsheet for my orchid info, and when I finally moved to the database, I wished that I had done it a long time ago. Do think more about it. It's definitely worth it. OrchidKitty's email shows some of the really cool stuff that one can do with a database -- OrchidKitty, I am really impressed! Even for less complex data, a database can be much more organized and flexible than a spreadsheet. And the more data you have, the more awkward the spreadsheet becomes. How many orchids do you have now, Chris? I agree that databases tend to work much better than spread sheets. However, databases cannot be maintained for weeks on end with a printout and a pencil or pen :-). Moving to a database has been hindered by laziness and cheapness. Open Office currently lacks something equivalent to access and rolling my own database is going to lead to a tangent on generating tables for printout and attempt #3 at writing a GUI app. Well, you coud try MySQL. It is free, and if you get the administration app available for it, creating new tables is as easy as it is in MS Access. I have worked with both. MySQL is, though, a more serious, production quality DB and so, for ease of entering data, and then viewing it, you'd need to create a GUI App. You say you've tried to create a GUI App a couple times. May I ask using what, and in what programming language? It is quite easy, now, to create GUI applications using products like NetBeans (free from www.netbeans.org) and Suns Java SDK (free from Sun). It is hard to beat free. If you want to give it a try, using NetBeans and Java, and you get stuck, just ask and I'll try to help you. But since I try to earn a living doing this, I can't guarantee an instantaneous response. A terrific resource for you are those Usenet newsgroups focussed on computer programming, but again patience is sometimes required. The fact is that spreadsheets are modelling tools, wholly inappropriate for trying to maintain a database. But it is tempting to abuse them in this way because it is so easy to use them to manage data. Using a spreadsheet to manage data, though, is rather like using a hammer to drive a screw. You can do it, but doing so is usually harder, and always less efficient, than using the right tool, and it will eventually lead to significant problems. I'd wager that Open Office doesn't have something like MS Access largely because there are several open source DB products including, but not limited to, MySQL and postgres. Cheers, Ted -- R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D. R & D Decision Support Solutions http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/ Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making |
#12
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orchid database?
Well, it's the same, but completely different here. I have to use a database to keep track of all the flasks in the lab, along with seeds, seedlings, that sort of thing. Starting from the bottom up: every batch of media has been databased, with pull-down tabs and quantity fields for individual components, as well as the type of container that was filled from that batch. Seeds are a big portion of the database; last I checked, we stocked 450 species, and we're probably closer to 600-700 different accessions (not individual species, mind you) at this time. All the applicable information is databased for each accession, and then assigned an accession number. I had to pay a programmer to do it, but now I can upload the entire seedlist automatically with a single button click. It's like magic, but faster. So, when a cut of seed is sown into a container, that container is assigned an M-number ("M" for mother flask), so that I know, for example, M001234 has species 987 sown in it, on such-and-such a date, using X disinfectant for Y minutes, and subjected to vacuum infiltration, or ultrasonication, or whatever. Then when it is replated, it gets an "R" number, so R002345 is replated from M001234, and that batch of media in that container was made on such-and-such a date, and I can go look up specifics on that if I want. And then there's a section for tubes, in terms of quantity made and quantity shipped/contaminated/destroyed, with a "difference" column so I can tell how many came in, how many went out, and the difference (i.e., what should be on the shelves). In turn, I have to have a barcode system to keep track of it all. The mother flasks have a barcode with the M-number, the accession number, date it was filled, and date seeds were added on it. The R-number labels have the same data. They're printed using a Datamax M-class barcode printer, on special labels using thermal transfer ribbon. They'll take years of sun, as well as exposure to bleach and alcohol and friction, and remain legible. Tubes get a simpler barcode label using a Dymo 330 label printer (direct thermal) onto paper; they last about a year before they start to fade under fluorescent lights. And then I have a third barcode printer (Datamax E-class) for printing barcode labels for the seed packets that go out; they have the name and accession number on them, with the accession number encoded in the barcode. Containers also get "backed up" using Sakura Ident-I-Pens, which are paint pens (versus pigments, like Sharpie). They take bleach, alcohol, and at least 4 years under fluorescent lights without fading; they're archival quality. Everything is backed up as hard copy as well as electronic copy, which gets backed up x3 every time it's used. I think Troy Meyers backs up every 4 hours; he uses Filemaker, I use Access. His labels for the lab encode a bit more information on them; I prefer to have access to that information in the database, rather than on the label. I doubt either of us is worse for wear in doing so. Lest anyone think I'm exaggerating or going completely overboard by using three barcode printers, a dedicated computer, barcode scanner, and triple secure backup- *maybe*. But I don't think so. I took paper as far as I could go with it, and decided the longer I waited, the more painful it would get. The transition was a complete logjam and excruciatingly detailed in transferring to the database- but I knew the longer I waited, the worse it would get. Things are still backlogged, of course, but they're not as bad as they'd be if I didn't have a database. The address in the header isn't valud. That's why I don't return your email. Cheers, -AJHicks Chandler, AZ |
#13
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orchid database?
I'm still using a spreadsheet, but it's getting unwieldy. As far as data, I
keep pretty much what all of the other posters do, sans the watering schedule. There are too many variables to consider in my case, growing outside. I do add a hyperlink for each plant so I can know what each looks like. Naturally, there are lots of plants that I can picture in my mind, but with 250 or so, it's easy to forget what some hybrids look like. Diana |
#14
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orchid database?
Aaron,
It looks like you were well served by the programmer you hired. In this you were lucky since there are many people out there who pass themselves off as capable programmers but who are actually grossly incompetent. A great many small businesses here have been burned so many times by such scoundrels that they swear that they will never pay a consultant to develop custom software ever again. And this hurts both small businesses and developers like myself. You certainly have not gone overboard. In fact, I am sure that if I built a model of your business processes, I could find more things for your database to do. One thing to consider is that as your database grows, Access will have more trouble handling the volume of data (this is a long term consideraton for a small business, so there is no need to worry about it yet). I'd expect that at some point, you will find it necessary to migrate to a more robust, and faster, database. I'd suggest MySQL because it is free and an excellent product. And you can hire a programmer to write a couple simple scripts to copy your data from Access to MySQL. If the programmer is at all competent, he should be able to write the script and complete the transfer in an hour or two. OTOH, if he is just a kid fresh out of college, he'll likely flounder for a few days trying to figure out what to do and how. One of the things I am implementing over the next few months to a year is an inventory control application that supports enterprises that have both a virtual store and a bricks and mortar store. And of course, bar-coding will be a vital part of the instore portion of the application. I'd suggest you just carry on, letting your database evolve as you see more things you can do with it that will help earn more money. I am unusual, WRT software developers, in that I won't implement something just because I can. Rather, I'll develop something only if a case can be made that doing it will generate more revenue than it costs to implement it. You could, if you wish, create a software developer's version of Rob's rules. Beginning with, "No matter how well developed a given application is, there are always many more features that can be built into it" (this is known among experienced software engineers as feature creep, and it is often the cause of the failure of software development projects). Cheers, Ted -- R.E. (Ted) Byers, Ph.D., Ed.D. R & D Decision Support Solutions http://www.randddecisionsupportsolutions.com/ Healthy Living Through Informed Decision Making |
#15
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orchid database?
Actually, I did the bulk of the work. I had to hire out
programmers to do bits and pieces that used VB that was above my own skill level. The first one to do work was the one who suggested I put all my stuff in a database to begin with. His comment, upon seeing the paperwork system I had, was that it was the "most organized" system he had ever seen. For a guy like me whose typical organizational system consists largely of piles and knowing which square meter of the floor something might be on, I suppose that says something. Then he quit his job as a programmer, languished in unemployment for a while, and eventually ended up in the Border Patrol. The second guy was an idiot on the East Coast. The third fellow I found through Guru.com (or whatever it was named before that), and I wanted a local fellow since I figured out I couldn't very well throttle the second guy since he was in New York. The third guy was pretty good, but he apparently got depressed about his day job, and ended up working at a new place. Between depression and the new workload at the new job, he kind of fell out of touch, and that was that. The fourth fellow was another local guy; he was particularly sharp, and did some serious work. Those of you who appreciate the new seed ordering system can thank him for putting it together. He kind of fell out of touch, too. He does some coding to support a trumpet habit. I think he now does work for a major pet chain. The most recent guy I only have doing very tiny snippets on a per-task basis. One job at a time. He's proven to have remarkable skill, and gotten some bits accomplished that the other guys couldn't touch. Not quite walking on water, but close. There were 2-3 other people in there, but none did serious work for me. This is all over the span of about 3-1/2 years, with the first "real" bit of work coming in at 2 years ago in December. That relieved me of the paperwork burden of the seed list, which was wonderful. I figure I'm at somewhere around 95% complete right now; there's still some work to do, but until it becomes enough of a nuisance, I'm not shelling out the big bucks to fix it. As for moving to something else- when I got started, Access was pretty much the gold standard for anything you wanted to run on a personal computer to handle up to, oh, 100 megs of data, and maybe more if you were really determined. Now, of course, I'd probably go with MySQL or something more popular. Transferring the data over is trivial; however, re-creating the front end would take weeks or months of my time, and more money down the rabbit hole. The big bit would be the data entry forms, which are remarkably sophisticated. One of the programmers re-invented the form, I think, in doing so. But it does exactly what I asked him to do, and that's what counts. As it stands, many of the features I have allow me to create wonderful lists of what I have available- and I still don't have time to create them or dump them to the web! The address in the header doesn't work. That's why I don't reply to your emails. Cheers, -AJHicks Chandler, AZ |
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